Bring home the Magic… for Free
Bringing home memories from a Disney vacation is something we all do. One way of doing this is in form of souvenirs. But it doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money if you’re on a tight budget. Look around Disney World and you might find something really nice that might make you relive the magic for years.
In 2002, when visiting Walt Disney World in October, we walked around EPCOT World Showcase, entering Japan. Here we went to see the art of calligraphy. Everybody who wanted could put their name down. The girls would then write it in Japanese on a piece of rise paper for you to take home.
These three pieces, with my family members name on it, are still my favorite souvenir from my trip to the World. And it was totally free, proof that it doesn’t always have to be expensive to be appreciated. It hangs on our wall and I can enjoy it every day.
If you’re looking for some freebies to collect that can be fun and are related to your holiday or stay at the resort, here is a tip! How about the maps from all the parks? Paper collectables are fun, small to transport and free. Beware though, my Disney paper collection is stored in 5 double sized boxes, it can be very addictive. But, in case of the maps, it can be fun to think about that holiday again while viewing the maps.
Making your children happy with some freebies can be a lot of fun too. KIDcot Fun Stop at EPCOT is one of those things that will make them happy; it is free and will provide a nice souvenir. I must admit that envy kicked in when my son had one of the masks and I didn’t. Next time I’ll have to pick one up, just for me…
Look around at WDW, there are more of these souvenirs. Have fun collecting! But remember, the best souvenir of them all are the memories of the Walt Disney World holiday itself
… and don’t forget to tell us about your freebie of the World
April 28th, 2006 at 3:11 pm
This is a great topic, Andy. And extremely useful considering prices seem in a steep rise at the moment. The KidCot stops (both at Epcot and also now at Animal Kingdom) are a great source of happy (collectible) memories. I would also add that my boys picked up a wonderful (free!) souvenir at the Art of Disney store in Downtown Disney, where the resident artist noticed them watching her at work and stopped to talk the boys through how to draw their own Pluto figure. With a couple of free stickers and a quick signature - presto! Two very happy boys and two wonderful souvenirs. This is a great example of what Disney do best of all - provide priceless memories when you least expect them. With a couple of cheap frames from Wal-Mart (OK, I’m a cheapskate!), my boys have the perfect memory of a trip to DD.
The one surprising thing? The Art of Disney store doesn’t (or didn’t then) sell some simple picture frames which would have fitted the bill, as we would certainly have bought them there if we could.
April 28th, 2006 at 11:59 pm
I did`t have kids - but still Paper(s) from every visit in DLP - maps are just for beginners
We always drive to DLP in the “cheap seasons” - not in case of money, just in case of mass of people - so I never seen a drawer of pictures or something like this in the park - but everytime you find something special reminder wich present a special memory just for you. Even under the point that DLP try to eleminate them more and more and change them to faceless “things to use and forget” - maybe just in case for bring the people into the shops (hey, I “lost” a lot of money there too - half of my dishes had a disney-logo on it , but for memorys i preffere the uniqe thing, wich no other understand :))
June 14th, 2006 at 3:39 am
Free souveniers, I love them! We have gotten several precious items for free at WDW over the past few years. Back in 2002, there was a real animator who was part of the animation tour at MGM. After she finished her animation talk, we stopped by and asked for her autograph. Jen Kagel did us one better, she drew a Mickey head and signed it! We left the tour in search of a photo frame to protect it. It’s our favorite souvenier of the trip. We have gotten numerous pins for free by attending the pin trader talks that are held several times at week at Exposition Hall. During our last trip, I was honored with the prized Continuing the Tradition pin and a couple of others. It was awesome! But, outside of pins, our favorite souvenier of our last trip was a park used Wet Paint sign with Stitch on it. The signs are labeled on the back with a remove time. There were about 5 of them posted along a wall at Magic Kingdom. The remove time was about 12 hours prior to the time that we found them. We found a CM in a suit and asked if we could have one, he said that we could, so we gently peeled away the tape and went in search of a photo frame to protect our find. Our framed Wet Paint Stitch sign hangs on the wall of our Disney room and creates a smile or two everyday!
June 14th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Maggie,
thank you for sharing the story. Another great example of nice things you can collect while at the Magic.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
[...] [13] Sites you may be interested in pAsTeL CoRnEr » Blog Archive » euro 2008 collectiblesMousekingdom Blog » Blog Archive » Bring home the Magic… for Free - A Disney Blog Tags > No Tags < This product is also listed in Money & Employment New Products Home [...]
October 25th, 2008 at 9:23 am
[...] The Cornwall News » Money provides employment boost » HOW BAD CREDIT LOANS CAN HELP YOU REPAIR YOUR CREDIT, Money and Employment CornerMousekingdom Blog » Blog Archive » Bring home the Magic… for Free - A Disney Blog [...]